KUZMA: Horvat, Virtanen learned life lessons from world juniors

Current Canucks credit jeers, cheers for preparing them for the NHL fishbowl

Bo Horvat has some sage advice for those donning the maple leaf in the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championship.

“Soak it all in — enjoy the experience,” said the Vancouver Canucks centre, whose only appearance with Canada in the annual showcase was a bitter fourth-place showing in 2014 at Malmo, Sweden. “This could be your only chance to play for Canada and you want to make the most of it by playing hard for your country and having fun with it.

“Playing in front of great fans and playing in Canada — it doesn’t get much bigger. Win or lose, it was an experience I’ll never forget.”

Of 15 players on the current Canucks roster, including those who are injured, only Jake Virtanen (2015) and Brandon Sutter (2008) have captured gold for our nation. It speaks to how the global game has grown and the unbridled passion of fans, who toast teenagers when they excel and torches them when they fail to meet lofty expectations.

Jake Virtanen had a sub-par performance at the 2016 world junior event and heard about it.Heikki Saukkomaa /
AP

For all the adulation Virtanen was afforded in 2015, a year later the New Westminster native was attacked on virtually every platform following a wild 6-5 quarterfinal loss to eventual tourney champion Finland. Virtanen took a pair of pivotal third-period minors on the same play and found himself in the crosshairs of swift and sharp criticism that was unwarranted, unparralled and unfair.

He was labelled a goat for the penalties and because his first tourney point didn’t come until the quarterfinal. Nobody mentioned Finland’s roster was dotted with future stars in Patrik Laine, Mikko Rantanen and NHL regulars like Kasperi Kapanen, Sebastian Aho and Jesse Puljujärvi.

“I definitely grew some thick skin after that,” recalled Virtanen. “I feel like I used to be a little bit softer with that stuff. But it doesn’t really matter what other people say, I just worry about myself and I have no regrets at all.

“I watched the world junior a lot when I was younger and it was always a dream to play and luckily I got to play two times and an it’s an honour to put the Canadian jersey on. You wish you could be 18 or 19 again because it’s such a great tournament to play in — especially when you win.”

Not that it’s easy to forget how some respond to a loss.

An inexperienced Canadian club will be under tremendous pressure to medal this year, but the faithful should keep everything in perspective.

Sven Baertschi, who represented Switzerland in 2011 (fifth) and 2012 (eighth), couldn’t believe the venom spewed at Virtanen following Canada’s early 2016 exit.

“It was gutless at times, really, because people say stuff and weeks later think: ‘Why was I thinking that?,” said the Canucks winger. “He’s just a young kid who’s playing a game and at the end of the day, that’s all it is. A lot is on the line in the moment, but really, he’s only 19.”

Virtanen forged a bond with roommate Max Domi, another high-touted winger, who is also having an NHL breakout season with the Montreal Canadiens.”

“We play each other head-to-head — and he’s little rat on the ice — but we also nod and there’s a big smile on your face because that (world junior) memory lasts forever. He’s a really nice kid and a real pro.”

Regardless of medal expectations, growth in games by playing with and against budding stars — like Connor McDavid — was a springboard to the NHL. Horvat had McDavid and Sam Reinhart as linemates in the 2014 tourney and benefitted from seeing where his own game was at and where it needed to improve.

Horvat had but three points (1-2) in seven games for coach Brent Sutter and being in a ramped-up environment against elite players isn’t lost on the future Canucks captain.

Horvat is already a go-to guy in post-game scrums and the foundation of what he experiences on a daily basis as a professional — especially in a hockey-mad Canadian market — was evident on the world-junior stage.

“It’s a crazy market,” admitted Horvat. “People are hard on you and the media is hard on you because people expect you to perform. But we were young kids and we were trying and it was basically the first experience playing for our country. It’s not easy, but it was a good learning experience.”

There was considerable navel-gazing after the 2014 result because it was the first time since the Program of Excellence was formed in 1982 that Canada had failed to medal in back-to-back world junior events. And with a 2014 entry that went 3-0-1 in the preliminary round-robin before losing 5-1 to eventual champion Finland and then 2-1 to Russia the next day in the bronze-medal game, it was like the sky had fallen.

Only once did Canada score the opening goal and as the tourney progressed, the big guns were being targeted and shut down in the quarterfinal setback. It was demoralizing.

And in the battle for third place, Horvat took a penalty and the Russians got all the momentum they needed with a fluke deflected goal.

“It’s not the same when you’re playing for bronze,” stressed Horvat. “The Russians played us hard and you still want to get a medal for your country, but at the same time, it was a tough game to play.”

Tough games are also the best lessons.

Horvat saw how driven McDavid was and how much his own game had to grow. You think you skate fast enough and then you see the future Edmonton Oilers captain shift gears like an F1 Ferrari. You think you’re good at taking passes at speed and you see how McDavid opens his hips, doesn’t miss a stride, and is gone in a flash.

“It was a pleasure playing with him because he opened up so much room,” said Horvat. “It was give the puck to him. It (world junior) was a learning experience of how much more you have to do and how much harder you have to work to get to the next level.”

Baertschi can concur.

His a-ha moment was watching Russian whiz Evgeni Kuznetsov slice through the opposition like a knife through butter.

“I was blown away because his skill level was so high and it helps your drive and it’s: ‘If this kid can do it, I can, too,’” recalled Baertschi. “People are going to love it here, it’s such a great tournament.”

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